With the inauguration of USI, in 1996, the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland chose to play an active role towards the intellectual and socio-economic growth of the country, and not only – by leveraging at best its convenient cultural position between northern Europe and the Mediterranean.
USI offers quality and interdisciplinary study curricula where theory and practice go hand in hand and where students play an important role: small-sized classes are the ideal venue for exercising in groups and for each individual student to express him/herself and thus develop their personalities and their uniqueness.
Direct interaction with faculty enables students to discover unexpected realities within a cosmopolitan and friendly environment, open to international careers.
Classes are taught in Italian, mainly in the Bachelor’s programmes, and English in most Master’s programmes, in doctoral programmes and in Executive education.
Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) engages in many national and international research programmes, in a network with partners in several countries. Research at USI is marked by ambitious projects seeking new developments and new solutions through interdisciplinary perspectives in several areas, namely:
Researchers at the University are provided with an unfettered and open access to the world to develop projects independently.
USI engages mainly in fundamental research though it conducts also applied research and projects.
The Career Service supports USI students, new graduates and companies.
The aim of the service is to foster relations and privileged links with the main professional realities and to facilitate, for its students, the transition from the academic world to the world of work through meetings, training and counselling sessions on tools and careers.
The Career Service manages an online database in which job and internship opportunities are offered by companies and institutions in search for talent to be included in their professional context.
Studyportals ranking look at the scores of the most used ranking systems and present you with one number of how well this University performs.
By Times Higher Education
Dropped 50 places compared to 2026
World University Rankings is a vital resource that provides the definitive list of the world's best universities. They look at how often they're producing new ideas, what their reputation is around the world, and how much they're contributing to science and academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, THE ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 301 | 251 | 301 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By TopUniversities
Climbed 17 places compared to 2026
QS World University Rankings is one of the top international rankings measuring the popularity and performance of universities all over the world. They measure university reputation based on the impressions of higher education experts, companies who hire graduates, and teaching quality. QS also considers the ratio of international teachers and students present at universities, as well as the times research papers were mentioned by researchers. After calculating and comparing these criteria, QS ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 405 | 473 | 456 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By U.S. News & World Report
Climbed 26 places compared to 2026
Best Global Universities Rankings by U.S. News & World Report presents all the top universities from the U.S. and 60 other countries around the world. They measure the rate of students going to their second year of studies, as well as the rate of students who graduate. It also asks university representatives on the performance of universities, and evaluates university resources, teacher salaries, graduation rates, student academic achievements and satisfaction. After calculating and comparing these criteria, U.S. News ranks the top international universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 586 | 550 | 524 |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
By Shanghai Jiao Tong University
This university doesn’t have a ranking for 2027 yet. Rankings are updated yearly, so check back later for the latest info.
ARWU World University rankings is the first world university ranking. It ranks the world's top 1000 colleges and universities based on objective indicator. They look at the number of award-winning (Fields Medals and Nobel Prize) scientists who are located there, how much of their research is cited and referenced around the world, and how much they've contributed to different academic fields. After calculating and comparing these criteria, ARWU ranks the universities accordingly.
| 2025 | 2026 | 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| 601 | 601 | - |
We don’t have enough recent ranking data to show a 3-year trend for this university.
Unfortunately, USI does not have on-campus housing capable of accommodating all students.Most students and doctoral students looking for housing must therefore proceed on their own , but can count on the assistance of the Reception and Housing Service .
The University Library Lugano (BUL) responds to aims of study, research and Information. The establishment of a specialized collection, however, is intended to support not only academic activities, but also the professional and cultural life of the Canton Ticino. The library therefore offers its services to all persons interested in the subjects studied at the University.
The West Campus Lugano offers, among other things:
The West Campus Lugano – or West Campus – is located in Via Giuseppe Buffi 13, Lugano (Switzerland). It is home to USI central administration.
The campus is home to
It is surrounded by public gardens, a cafeteria and a number of study areas equipped with computers and Internet access.
The Lugano city centre and lakeside are within walking distance
As part of the "SostA... verso un Ateneo sostenibile" project, all members of the USI community may benefit from a subscription at discounted rates of the PubliBike bike sharing service with access to the Lugano and Mendrisio networks (PubliBike Map).
Several student associations have been established within the University with the aim of improving student-institutional relations and expanding the range of educational and recreational opportunities during their studies. Specifically, these associations organize parties and gatherings, cultural and sporting activities, and facilitate contacts between students and the world of work.
USI is in the Times Higher Education (THE) and Quacquarelli Symonds World University Rankings (QS), which are amongst the world's most popular and well-known global rankings - latest available data:
Based on 63 reviews
USI is a university that values international experience, while offering a masters program that is focused on scholastic immersion.
It was a great journey and it has been pivotal to achieve my current job position in the crypto valley (Kanton Zug) in a digital bank. The level of knowledge shared in the Minor in Digital Finance was absolutely of high quality. The chance to go six months to HSG was also really appreciated and useful to enhance the future career path. I recommend it especially for being very open and with brilliant professors.
USI is a very international university; while small, it allows students to meet people from all over the world.
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